Catching Up

Life as a FOCUS missionary is a lot like I thought it would be and of course a lot different too.  The last several of weeks have flown by filled with FOCUS and campus events, meeting so many new people, hanging out with students, and adjusting to life in Dubuque and as a missionary.  I have failed to update this blog as often as I had planned and for that I apologize.   In the future I will be better at keeping you all updated on my work!  

My first week as a missionary started with our staff off-site.  We spent two days in IL at my team director's parents house.  It was a very successful time away, which we spent going over our campus plan for the year and bonding as a team.  My team was able to experience for the first time my 'early to bed-early to rise' life style.  It is now a common joke with the team that I am unintelligible after 10pm because when I get tired I start to mumble.  This, I have been told, makes understanding my already fast speech harder. 

Upon returning to Dubuque we got down to business and spent a day getting things like parking passes and office keys figured out.  The next day, Thursday,  we helped freshman move into the dorms.  It was so different than all of the move-ins I participated or assisted in at UW-Madison.  Here at Loras there are so many willing, able hands that the new student and their family carries almost nothing to their room.  The proportion of helpers to students was often 20:1.  At Madison both times I moved into the dorms it was just my parents and I carrying boxes and lofting beds.  It was nice to get to know some of the older students as we carried boxes upstairs and waited for more students to arrive.  

The freshman here at Loras are all required to participate in Launch into Loras, which helps them to form community and become adjusted to college life.  They spend much of Friday-Sunday at Launch and so the FOCUS team spent much of the first weekend with the older students.  

The start!

Welcome to my blog and hello from Loras College in Dubuque Iowa! I am so excited to share with you my journey and life as a FOCUS missionary!

A quick recap of the last few months... I graduated from the University of Wisconsin - Madison on May 15th on a day that started with a photograph on Abe Lincoln's lap and ended with a wonderful party with whole family and many close friends. After a somewhat sad goodbye to my home of four years I moved home for a few weeks of family fun.

My first official day as a FOCUS missionary was June 1st as I started the 5 weeks of New Staff Training (NST) at the University of Illinois in Champaign. NST was a fast five weeks filled with much learning, prayer, and personal growth. There was also lots of amazing Christian fellowship, Mission Partner Development (aka fundraising), and FOCUS fun!

We found out about our placements for the year at the end of the first week. That night was a night to remember with much joy at finding out I would be spending the year at Loras and getting to meet two of the other members of my team. We found out a couple days later that our team had gained an additional member. Our team director Jason Eilers and his wife Kjersti welcomed their first child, Olivia, on June 5th!

NST ended on July 3rd and I headed north to spend time with one of my college roommates and her family. After a very enjoyable night with the very wonderful MacDonald family I met up with my family and I completed my journey back to Bloomer.

The next 6 weeks flew by. Most of my days were filled with Mission Partner Development (MPD). I initially had many fears about MPD but it turned into a very wonderful experience. I was blessed to meet many new people, share FOCUS' mission, and speak about my favorite things: Jesus and the Catholic faith! I cannot put to words how thankful I am to every person I met or spoke with on the phone and to God who provided me with the opportunity to meet so many wonderful people and for providing for my needs.

During my 6 weeks at home I was also blessed to spend time with my wonderful family. My parents who have always been extremely supportive of me were especially supportive and encouraging this summer. I cannot say how much I appreciate their kind words, prayers, and unceasing love. It was also so much fun to be able to spend time with my sister Kelsey and her family. I was privileged to have tea parties, watch my nephew Leif take some of his first steps, push swings, play in the kiddie pool, and 'scream' at play dough snakes.

On August 19th I moved to Dubuque on what felt like one of the hottest and most humid days of the year. A huge thank you to my parents for hauling my furniture, clothes, and baking supplies up a flight of stairs to my second story apartment. My roommate and teammate Anne-Marie moved into our apartment the next day and our teammate Jonathan moved into his apartment the day after. We spent the weekend settling in, making multiple trips to Walmart, and finding my way to the Culver's because nothing says home like a dish of Culver's custard and a butterburger.

More to come soon on the start of life and work at Loras!

Through Her to Him!